The
origin of Star Sapphire can be traced back 2.5 billion years, when the immortal
women of the planet Oa left their adopted homeworld, and the males of their
species, behind.Migrating to the
planet Zamaron, the female Oans established a warrior culture, dedicating
themselves to combat prowess and physical ability even as the males worked to
master their inherent mental powers.As
the millennia progressed they became as different species—the female Zamarons
became elegant Amazon-like warriors, while the men evolved into dwarfish,
physically frail beings with tremendous mental abilities—the
Guardians of the Universe.As a
result of their choices the Zamarons found themselves no longer able to directly
manipulate the psionic powers that were their birthright, but instead were
forced to channel them through the use of their mystical star sapphire gems.

As
time passed, a particular tradition developed among the Zamaron warriors, where
they would choose a mortal woman to become their queen.This woman, who must possess specific physical characteristics in order
to be eligible, is approached following the death of the prior queen and is
presented with a star sapphire gem, one that possesses an array of abilities
that are roughly comparative to the energy rings of the Green Lantern Corps.Upon acceptance of the gemstone, the mortal woman takes on the royal
title of Star Sapphire and the throne of the planet Zamaron.However, it should be noted that this appointment is merely a figurehead
position, and the queen only rules at the Zamarons’ pleasure.If a queen is found to be unfit then she may be sent back to her
homeworld or even punished, as was the case of an unnamed former Star Sapphire
who was banished to the 7th Dimension for her crimes against her
people.This practice has resulted
in a dynasty of Star Sapphires, each one physically identical to the last.

The
current Zamaronian monarch is an as-yet unidentified woman who has associated
herself with the super-powered criminal element of the planet Earth, a world
within Sector 2814.Currently
content to engage in acts of theft, her actions have repeatedly brought her into
conflict with Green Lantern John Stewart, as well as his allies in the Justice
League.However, her ultimate
motives, as well as her current standing among the Zamarons, remain unclear.

Cartoon Network on Star
Sapphire: "This sexy super-villainess has class, style, and a killer
power gem that allows her to fly and shoot deadly blasts (courtesy
of Cartoon Network press materials)."

Excerpts from the Justice League Panel at the 2001
San
Diego Comic Con:

Bruce Timm:[Star
Sapphire is] from the Green Lantern comics.One of the interesting things about [the Injustice Gang episode] is that
we have eight supervillains, but it’s really Luthor’s story more than
anything else.We didn’t really
get the time to go into their origin stories as much as we normally do in the
series, so we really don’t explain anything about Star Sapphire.[In the episode] she’s just this gal who has this special power.Her actual back story is that she’s Carol Ferris—who was Hal
Jordan’s boss—and she had this
psychotic breakdown and [developed] this secondary personality.

Rich Fogel:She’s
the epitome of “the woman scorned.”

Bruce Timm:Olivia
D’Abo plays her.We just love her
English accent, but she’s never had a chance to use it [D’Abo was the voice
of Ten on Batman Beyond]…so we figured that her secondary personality
could have an English accent.It
just sounds nice.

Mighty Isis on
Star Sapphire:“A sleek, high-fashion look for Star Sapphire [designed by
Bruce Timm] pays homage to what was cool about Gil Kane’s original design for
the character in the Silver Age Green Lantern comics, while losing the
more dated 'airline stewardess' elements.The shock pink and lavender color scheme is in place, though reconfigured
for a sexier 'today' look (tall, shiny pink boots and gloves).The mask has been retooled [as well]—it keeps the dual upward sweep of
Carol Ferris’ original domino [mask], but elongates the ears (?) into
something sinister rather than silly.

“Aloof and superior, Star Sapphire probably has fewer lines than any
of the other Injustice Gangers.She
seems to possess energy powers identical to those of Green Lantern—except that
her energy is fuchsia, not green—that’s channeled through a jewel worn on
the forehead of her mask.As a
result, she kicks some major ass (courtesy of Toon
Zone).”

DarkLantern on Star Sapphire’s powers:“Star Sapphire created energy projections in early Green Lantern
issues.One [example] that comes to
mind is a pair of pincers that pulled Hal Jordan's mask off (courtesy of Toon
Zone).”

Much
like Green Lantern himself (or herself / itself, considering the diversity of
the Corps), Star Sapphire follows in the tradition of the DC comic book
icons…in that she possesses a dense, tangled web of decades-old continuity.In total, there have been four significant Star Sapphires that have been
chronicled to any degree in DC Comics and each one, while enhancing the rich
tapestry of the character’s heritage, complicates the character utilized on Justice League,
making her potential background a very, very confusing one.

In
fact, the first Star Sapphire wasn’t even a Green Lantern villain at all.Making her debut in All-Flash Comics #32 (December 1947 / January 1948),
this Star Sapphire was an adversary of Jay Garrick, the Golden Age Flash.An unnamed villain with poorly-defined powers, she was the ruler of the 7th
Dimension and sought to expand her territory by conquering Earth.She was later retroactively fit into Post-Crisis continuity as a
former
ruler of the Zamarons, but one who was rejected as being unfit to rule due to
her fear of men and was exiled from our reality.She made a return to Earth following the debut of the Silver Age Star
Sapphire (which we will discuss shortly) and was defeated by the Silver Age
Flash (Barry Allen) and Green Lantern (Hal Jordan), who imprisoned her in a star
sapphire gem (Flash /
Green Lantern:The Brave and the
Bold #6; March 2000).

The
second, and most recognized, Star Sapphire was Carol
Ferris, who first appeared
in Showcase #22 (September / October 1959).The owner of Ferris Aircraft and boss of pilot Hal Jordan,
she served as a sort of Lois
Laneto Jordan’s
Superman—Hal Jordanloved Carol, but she only had eyes for Green Lantern, his costumed alter-ego.However, in Green Lantern #16 (October 1962), Ferris was approached by
the Zamarons, who had chosen her to become their latest Zamaronian queen.Carol, however, refused, claiming that she wanted to remain on Earth and
marry Green Lantern instead, and the Zamarons, unaccustomed to being turned down
(and presumably no longer understanding the female’s interest in men), decided
to prove to their chosen queen that Green Lantern was unworthy of her.To that end, they hypnotized her, outfitted her in the traditional
hunting uniform of a Zamaronian queen, gave her the star sapphire power gem, and
told her to go out and battle Green Lantern to prove her superiority.Compelled to obey due to the hypnotism of the Zamaronian pipe organ,
Ferris (now acting as an aggressive Zamaron warrior) attacked Hal Jordanin an attempt to prove herself worthy of becoming queen.However, following an initial victory, Star Sapphire lost her second bout
withJordan,
and the Zamarons stripped away her memories of Star Sapphire and
returned her to normal.However,
they left the power gem behind, and their hypnotism left subconscious urges of
the Star Sapphire persona within Carol’s psyche, leading to ongoing stories in
which Ferris would “rediscover” the power gem and resume her costumed
persona.

(Shortly
after this there was a third Star Sapphire named Dela Pharon, who made her debut in
Green Lantern #41 [November 1964], but she disappeared into the background
following her initial appearance.)

During
her periodic transformations into Star Sapphire, Carol Ferris used her time to
try and get Green Lantern to marry her (see here) but, as time wore on, she
became increasingly ruthless in the pursuit of her beloved.Later, it was revealed that Carol had always been a little schizophrenic,
torn between wanting to marry Green Lantern and be the perfect wife, and wanting
to be the “son” that her father Carl Ferris had dreamt would one day inherit
his company.Torn between her
traditional and feminist ideals, she subconsciously found that becoming Star
Sapphire allowed her to vent her frustrations towardsJordan
for getting in the way of her father’s dreams.However, this situation began to change when Carol—who had previously forgotten her
activities as Star Sapphire once she had changed back to normal—was
informed of her second identity by Hal Jordan, who also revealed his secret
identity to her.In addition, the
initial hypnotic suggestion, coupled with her continued use of the power gem and
her own mental problems,
led to the development of “Star Sapphire” as a secondary personality within
her psyche.Now suffering from
multiple-personality disorder, her situation would grow worse as a series of
crises struck her life.

It
began when Congressman Jason Bloch tried to ruin Ferris Aircraft
financially in an attempt to buy it out, forcing her father out of retirement to
take back the presidency of his company from his daughter.This, coupled with HalJordan
being forced to take an extended leave of absence from Earth, led to Carol
Ferris suffering a nervous breakdown.Deprived
of both love and success, she believed herself to unworthy of either because she
was not ruthless enough.This
psychological imbalance triggered her power gem, which split her into two
separate beings:a submissive Carol
Ferris, who loved HalJordan,
and the male Predator, who loved her and embodied all of the characteristics
that she regarded as ideal.Free
of Carol's subconscious, the Predator established himself as a vigilante and protected
Ferris Aircraft from the likes of Congressman Bloch—who he eventually
killed—as well as DC villains Eclipso and the Demolition Team.In addition, the Predator established his own company, Intercontinental
Petroleum (or Con-Trol), to help Carol regain control of Ferris Aircraft, all in a
subconscious bid to prove herself to her father.Soon he began to court Carol (who did not know that the Predator was part
of herself) directly, which eventually led to the Predator battling a newly-returnedJordan
for her hand.In the end, Green
Lantern defeated the vigilante
and witnessed him re-merging with Carol Ferris to
become a newer, more dangerous, Star Sapphire (see here).

A
singular being once more, Star Sapphire was now ready to take her throne as the
queen of Zamaron and to take Green Lantern as her consort, but Hal refused,
claiming that she was nothing but a heartless creation of the Zamarons.Enraged, she vowed revenge, and eventually killed Corps member Katma Tui
as part of one of her schemes.However,
her efforts proved futile, as the Zamarons and the Guardians reconciled and
departed this reality during the 1988 Millennium crossover event, leaving Star
Sapphire the queen of an abandoned country.However, even after murdering his friend, Hal Jordan did not give up on her, but an attempt
to
cleanse her of her evil persona proved futile. Following the attempt she claimed
that she was, in
fact, the real Carol Ferris, and that the change in her personality was the end
result of the events that had shaped her life (this was, of course, the Star
Sapphire persona talking).Still not
cowed, HalJordan
would have tried again, but he was nonetheless distracted when he went mad, destroyed the Green Lantern Corps,
and became Parallax, leaving his former love—who was rapidly losing the war
for her sanity—to fend for herself.

Later,
the Predator returned and revealed that he was not truly a personality in Carol
Ferris’ head, as was previously thought; he was, in fact, an ancient parasite from Maltus (the original
homeworld of the Oans) and that he had impregnated Star Sapphire with a demonic
entity.Sick of the constant
manipulation, Carol Ferris saw an opportunity during 1995’s
Underworld Unleashed crossover event, and made a deal with the demon Neron in which she would trade the alien / demonic baby in
her womb to him in exchange for killing off Star Sapphire and the Predator from her
mind.Neron gladly did so, first
transforming Star Sapphire (seen here in her new costume) and the
Predator into separate corporal beings and then allowing them to cause some havoc
before destroying them both.However,
while she was free of her unwanted pregnancy and the multiple personalities in
her head, she still possessed a residual element of her Star Sapphire persona in
her subconscious.Fortunately, Hal Jordan,
who was now the new Spectre, succeeded in removing those last lingering vestiges from her mind, allowing her—after years of torment—to
finally be free.In the end Carol Ferris, having moved on, married a man named Gil (no doubt a tribute to Gil Kane, co-creator of
the Carol Ferris Star Sapphire) and dropped off the radar for a few years,
resurfacing in the recent Green Lantern:Rebirth
miniseries where, having come to terms
with her feelings for the newly-resurrected HalJordan,
she now seeks to rebuild Ferris Aircraft and start over.

Meanwhile,
while this drama was unfolding, a fourth Star Sapphire made her debut in
Secret
Society of Supervillains #1 (May / June 1976).Noteworthy
for speaking with a French accent that came and went from story to story,
this incarnation of the character
appeared with the supervillain team for the duration of its run, and apparently
developed feelings for undercover hero Captain Comet along the way.Only two issues away from having her origins revealed (according to
writer Bob Rozakis), the title was cancelled with issue #15 (the last fully
finished issue, however, appeared in Cancelled Comics Cavalcade #2, Fall 1978),
and it wasn’t until Justice League of America #174 (January 1980)—in the
letters column, no less!—that her origins were delved into.This Star Sapphire was revealed to be Remoni-Notra (who went by the Earth
alias of Debbie Camille Darnell), an alien from the planet Pandina who was
chosen to be Carol Ferris’ successor.Traveling
to Earth to take possession of Ferris’ power gem, she apparently got
sidetracked by her activities with the Secret Society, which included the events
revealed in 2004’s Identity Crisis miniseries, where she—along with
the rest of her teammates—discovered the secret identities of the Justice
League, and subsequently had their minds erased by Zatanna.Recently revealed to have spent the past few years in a coma in Belle
Reve Prison, this is the Star Sapphire that writer Geoff Johns utilized
for his "Crisis of Conscience" story arc in JLA.

Because of this elaborate, sometimes
contradictory, back-history, the creative team has decided to pretty much ignore
it altogether, preferring to utilize Star Sapphire as simply a "gal who has this special
power," as Bruce Timm so eloquently put it. In a way it's just as
well, as Star Sapphire's presence on Justice League brings up many questions that, due to time constraints, they did not have adequate time to
go into during her small appearances in "Injustice For All,"
"Fury," and "Hereafter." For example, how could the
creative team explain the Zamarons, who are the female population of the Oan
race, when a female Guardian made an appearance in the Superman episode
"In Brightest Day" (seen here;
female Guardians have only come about recently in Green Lantern:
Rebirth #6; May 2005)? Also, who is this version of Star
Sapphire? In past interviews (recorded above) the creative team has made
mention of her being Carol Ferris, but it is unlikely as Hal Jordan, her
adversary and reason for existence, is not present on this series (his cameo
appearance in "The Once and Future Thing" notwithstanding). It is
more likely that this Star Sapphire is Remoni-Notra, considering that 1) the
Star Sapphire on Justice League was a member of a
group of supervillains, and 2) this Star Sapphire is interested in theft, rather
than making a Green Lantern fall in love with her. Still, her true
identity is unknown, and will remain so unless her origins are delved into in a
future episode of Justice League Unlimited.

In the end, Star Sapphire is a
welcome addition to the DCAU, as her presence pays tribute to a classic, Silver
Age character, and gives her a stylish new costume that vaguely resembles John
Stewart's redesigned suit (also worth noting: her redesigned mask is reminiscent
of the X-Men's Marvel Girl—see
here
and here—and
her costume's design borrows heavily from current Justice League member Dr. Light;
see here). However,
without Hal Jordan—Carol
Ferris' raison d'ętre—Star Sapphire suffers a bit, as
the primary element that added nuance to the most complex incarnation of this
character is missing. As a result, her bit of dialogue from
"Injustice for All" about associating with common criminals (reprinted
above) becomes quite ironic, as—without
that added depth—this femme fatale is now little more than a common
criminal herself.